This site was claimed in 1857 under a Republic of Texas land certificate held by former State representative Darwin Stapp of Victoria County, and in 1869 he sold the tract to another absentee owner. By tradition, the house was built in the 1870s by John J. Brestow, a squatter who came to this area for his health. The one-room cabin was constructed of stone from the nearby Santa Anna Mountains. Later owners, including Mrs. Sarah Himmins, rented the property to tenant farmers. Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Bruce, who purchased the land in 1947, restored the rock house and maintained it as a museum.